Quiet zones affect street parking near tracks

Fairfield residents living by the railroad may be counting the days until trains chug through town without their customary blasts of the horn, but they may take less kindly to the limited parking the quiet zone is likely to require.

The city council will vote tonight on whether or not the street department will install ?no parking? signs on Main Street, Court Street and B Street on either side of the crossing.

Councilman Michael Halley said residents of roughly six to eight buildings per crossing would be affected, but he sees no way around it.

The design of the quiet zone involved medians running north and south at all of Fairfield?s crossings, creating a barrier to traffic. Street construction for the project began in July, and the medians are expected to be in place by the end of next month.

?You?re literally boxed in,? said Halley. ?To the left is the median, the crossing is in front of you, and to the right is the curb.?

According to the Federal Railroad Administration risk calculator Fairfield?s quiet zone will be twice as safe as the current horn-blowing method.

But the medians also will inhibit the ability for cars to cross the centerline in order to drive around parked vehicles on the side of the road.

?Parked cars would literally be blocking all traffic coming through,? said Halley.

Public Works Director Darrel Bisgard determined the signs should be placed 50 feet from the end of the median. Each would read, ?No Parking Between Signs? with arrows pointing toward the posting on the other side of the track.

Halley said he wants to implement the new parking rules soon so people will have time to adjust.

?It will be a trade off,? he said. ?You can?t park in front of your house, but you don?t have to listen to the train either.?

Halley, who has been working on the Quiet Zones Project since 2010, has received the most support for the idea based upon the merits of increased safety and economic development.

The project received financial support from more than 500 donors, many of whom own property near the train tracks, said Halley.

Burlington, which is located on the same track line as Fairfield, implemented a quiet zone in 2009. Halley visited the city and said property owners near the tracks have invested in renovations and retailers have been attracted back downtown due to the quiet zone.

He also learned how controversial the quiet zone originally was there. The older generations in town were against silencing train horns because it was part of the town?s tradition and held nostalgic value for them.

But Halley said the horns used in the 1970s are different than today?s.

?Train horn volume levels have been going up and up over the years,? he said. ?The ones you used to hear are not the same ones being blasted today.?

Halley said Fairfield residents had mixed feelings at first about creating a railroad quiet zone, but said now, ?most people are excited about it.?

He expects the no parking issue could create some inconvenience for people, but said hopes they?ll agree it?s worth it.

?There are a lot of places in town with no parking on one side of the street,? he said. ?You can?t always park on the street in front of your house.?